Commentary
[in chronological order]
Marsilius of Padua at the Intersection of Ancient and Medieval Tradition
- Syros, Vasileios, Marsilius of Padua at the Intersection of Ancient and Medieval Tradition. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012).Excerpt: “What gained Marsilius of Padua notoriety in his time and a well-deserved position in modern narratives on the history of European political ideas is his interest in laying bare and combating the unique cause of the stride and dissension that… More
Medieval Sovereignty: Marsilius of Padua and Barolus of Saxoferrato
- Maiolo, Francesco, Medieval Sovereignty: Marsilius of Padua and Barolus of Saxoferrato (Delft: Uberon Publishers, 2008).Medieval Sovereignty examines the idea of sovereignty in the Middle Ages and asks if it can be considered a fundamental element of medieval constitutional order. Francesco Maiolo analyzes the writings of Marsilius of Padua (1275/80–1342/43) and Bartolous… More
Marsilius of Padua and ‘the Truth of History’
- Garnett, George, Marsilius of Padua and ‘the Truth of History’. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).This book presents a radical reinterpretation of the great medieval thinker, Marsilius of Padua. George Garnett’s iconoclastic re-reading of Marsilius’s work – based on a careful attention to the texts – overturns the widely accepted… More
The Shadow of Antenor: On the Relationship Between the Defensor Pacis and the Institutions of the City of Padua
- Piaia, Gregorio, ‘The Shadow of Antenor: On the Relationship Between the Defensor Pacis and the Institutions of the City of Padua,’ in Kaufhold (ed.), Politische Reflexion, (Brill, 2004) 193-207.This volume investigates the methods of political theory in the later Middle Ages. It presents both, case studies of prominent authors like Marsilius of Padua, William of Ockham or Baldus de Ubaldis, and the attempt to outline the phenomenon of political… More
University Masters and Political Power: The Parisian Years of Marslius of Padua
- Courtenay, W. J. ‘University Masters and Political Power: The Parisian Years of Marslius of Padua,’ in Kaufhold (ed.), Politische Reflexion (Brill, 2004), pp. 209-23.This volume investigates the methods of political theory in the later Middle Ages. It presents both, case studies of prominent authors like Marsilius of Padua, William of Ockham or Baldus de Ubaldis, and the attempt to outline the phenomenon of political… More
Community and Consent: The Secular Political Theory of Marsiglio of Padua’s Defensor Pacis
- Nederman, C, Community and Consent: The Secular Political Theory of Marsiglio of Padua’s Defensor Pacis (lanham, Md., 1995).From the publisher: In the first examination of the Defensor Pacis in almost fifty years, Cary J. Nederman demonstrates Marsiglio of Padua’s continuing relevance, connecting his philosophy to contemporary debates about community, identity, difference,… More
On Marsilius of Padua
- Strauss, Leo, "On Marsilius of Padua," in Liberalism: Ancient and Modern (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995).Excerpt: “The diseases of the Commonwealth which Aristotle had discussed endanger this or that kind of governance or render good government impossible. But in Marsilisus’ opinion the disease with which the defender is concerned renders any… More
Marsilius of Padua and the Case for the Royal Ecclesiastical Supremacy
- Lockwood, S. C., ‘Marsilius of Padua and the Case for the Royal Ecclesiastical Supremacy’, TRHS, 6th ser., I (1991), 89-119.Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power
- Mansfield, Harvey, Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power (New York: The Free Press, 1989).Excerpt: “With Marsilius of Padua’s great work, Defender of the Peace (1324) we come almost to the point of departure for the modern doctrine of executive power. For the first time “execution” and the “executive” became a… More
Marsilius of Padua
- Strauss, Leo, "Marsilius of Padua," in History of Political Philosophy, edited, L. Strauss and J. Cropsey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).Excerpt: “Marsilius, whose chief work is entitled defender of the piece, was a Christian Aristotelian. But both his Christianity and his Aristotelianism differ profoundly from the beliefs of the most celebrated Christian Aristotelian, Thomas Aquinas.… More
Major Works
Defensor Pacis
- Defensor Pacis, translated with an Introduction by Alan Gewirth. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1980).Excerpt: “Chapter 1: On the general aim of the discussion, the cause of that aim, and the division of the book. Tranquility, wherein peoples prosper and the welfare of nations is preserved, must certainly be desirable to every state. For it is the noble… More
Defensor Minor and De Translatione Imperii
- Defensor Minor and De Translatione Imperii, translated Cary Nederman. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).From introduction to work: “Because the Defensor Minor operates at a level of greater specificity than the Defensor Pacis, it erases many of the ambiguities of the earlier work and affords further insight into the Nana fundamental intellectual and… More